Zechariah 4

₁The angel who had to tell me what everything meant came back and he woke me up like you wake up someone who has been sleeping. ₂The angel asked me: ‘Zechariah, what do you see?’

And I said: ‘I see a golden lamp-stand. On top of the lamp-stand is a bowl and there is olive oil in the bowl. There are 7 lamps and the olive oil flows through the pipes to the 7 lamps. ₃There are also 2 olive trees next to the lamp-stand. One tree is on the right hand side and one on the left hand side of the lamp-stand.’ ₄Then I asked the angel: ‘Sir, what does this mean?’

₅And the angel asked me: ‘Don't you know what this means?’

I said: ‘No, sir.’

₆The angel said to me: ‘Tell Zerubbabel that the Lord said: You must do what I tell you to do. And you will do it, not because you are strong, but because my Spirit is in you. ₇This big mountain in front of you will become small and flat and you will build the temple there. And when you have finished putting the last stone into place, the people will shout_loudly and say: “The Lord is good to us in Jerusalem.” ’

₈The Lord said to me: ₉‘Zerubbabel's hands started to build this temple and his hands will finish it.

On that day when the temple is finished, you will know that it was the Lord who rules over all who sent me to you. ₁₀Do not laugh when you see small things happen. Don't think it was unimportant when Zerubbabel started to build the temple. Everyone will be happy when they see that he has started building the temple. Those 7 eyes in the rock in front of Joshua are the eyes of the Lord that look everywhere all over the world.’

₁₁I, Zechariah, again asked the angel: ‘What is the meaning of the 2 olive trees that are left and right of the lamp-stand?’

₁₂I also asked him: ‘What is the meaning of the 2 olive branches with the golden pipes through which the olive oil flows?’

₁₃The angel asked me: ‘Don't you know what that means?’ I said: ‘No, sir.’

₁₄And the angel said: ‘These are the 2 men whom the Lord has anointed with olive oil and who are working for the Lord of the whole world.’